Originally Posted by
PilotFrog
Ok I asked this earlier, but now that it is getting close to the date I want to resubmit my question.
I currently have Diamond HSA because I was single and enjoyed the tax break along with the cheap price. Now I am married and hope to have a child in the next year. Does anyone suggest staying with Diamond or going to the Gold HRA? I watched the Open Enrollment video and it confused me more. The examples they had were not that great. Seems with the anticipated doctors visits I'd quickly hit my high deductible in the HSA and then be covered 100% but not sure. PMS are welcome as well to not clutter the board, thanks.
I've been doing the Diamond HSA and for the most part have been pleased with the predictability of it. This year kind of stinks though as they transition to a 90/10 copay when you meet your deductible. The maximum out of pocket is $6k I believe. When I did the HSA vs. HRA calculator the HSA came out ahead by about $800. One of the benefits I liked about the HSA was that if you maxed out your contribution to the bank you pocketed at least $1500 every year that you could in theory bank to retirement and then use that money to pay for medical expenses in retirement. Now that we have the 90/10, if you make it to the $6k limit, you will only bank $150 into the account. Since there is no way to make extra tax deductible contributions they've taken away a big advantage in my book for it.
As others have stated, I like the HSA during pregnancy years because the kids can be expensive. My wife has four weeks to go before number 2 and we met our deductible in July. Everything now is a copay of zero. Very nice going into the holidays. Plus, if your wife is over 30 there are a lot of additional tests doctors run during pregnancy that can add significantly to your bill. The HSA takes that uncertainty out.